I'm surprised too. Makes me wonder how bad the other guy/party must be.
Along side the Syrian Kurd story are the Iraqi Kurds, who I thought Turkey had been battling for some time.
I decided to do some reading about this, and it seems like a very nuanced sort of relationship between Kurds and the nation of Turkey. A few quotes from wikipedia:
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), founded by Masoud Barzani, leans toward conservative nationalism and has a strong presence in the north.[10] Given their geographic location, they have historically relied on Turkey for international leverage.
Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has aligned itself with Marxist ideals during their liberation struggle and has a stronghold in the southern Iraqi Kurdistan.[10] They have tended to seek support from Iran and Syria.
So if I had to take a guess, many of the Kurds in Turkey are carrying on that capitalist/communist duality from Iraq, and would rather have a leader that hates them and upholds their economic ideology, than a communist that would pander to them.
Interesting. I see Iraqi Kurdistan has economic deals with Turkey that have smoothed over past differences. I guess I'm behind on Kurdish affairs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Iraqi_Kurdistan#Turkey
I am surprised to hear that the Kurds are a big source of his support. They appear to be something of a disparate "group". Along side the Syrian Kurd story are the Iraqi Kurds, who I thought Turkey had been battling for some time.